Romania maintained a river force through much of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first because the Danube serves as both a border and an economic route. Patrol vessels give the Romanian state a visible means of exercising authority on the water. They can protect access to trade on which the country depends. Economic independence therefore depends in part on a capable presence where that trade moves. The argument is that a state without such a presence risks leaving practical control of its access to its neighbours.
Chapter · 36:38-38:14
Romania's need for a Danube presence
Romania's continuing river force protects a vital border and lets the state maintain a practical presence on an economically important waterway.